Use sign language on your way to safari

In Tanzania, 10% of the population is disabled. Local and foreign NGOs fights for basic rights of this group - access to education and employment. Thanks to their efforts in East Africa there are few places that seem to be the inspiration for Europeans how to enable people with disabilities in social life. In Neema Craft center there is a handicraft shop and the restaurant. People with physical disabilities and the deaf one work there.

Photo: Roman Stanek, Neema Craft

Iringa, Tanzania - A young man is crawling in front of the freshly painted yellow shop. He doesn’t have legs. After a while, he is emerging from the counter and looking at customers behind the cash. He’s name is Claud J. Mahembe - 25-year-old salesman in the center of the Neema Craft. He is surrounded by colorful African clothes, jewelry, albums and photo frames made from the banana leaves. The space around reminds me the decoration taken from Scandinavian’s Ikea style. Coolness, while outside there is 40-degree heat.

The shop is located in the central part of Tanzania, in the middle of the mountainous town of Iringa, one of the higest located town in the country. However it is not Tanzanians that come for shopping there. It was made to give them a job. Clients are Wazungu - which in Kiswahili means "European" ie "white". They can buy souvenirs there and enjoy a good coffee on their way to the safari.

Neema Craft gives nowadays 100 full-time job for people with disabilities from surrounding area of Iringa. Susie Hart, the wife of an English vet working in Tanzania, founded the center in 2003. Since that time, the place continues to grow and care for the needs of disabled Africans and consuming needs of foreign tourists.

Discrimination begins in the family

The center was created by accident. Just like most of the small development projects in the South. "We came to Iringa, because I got a job here. My wife wanted to find something for herself. The local bishop advised her to pay attention to people with disabilities. There are a lot of them on the streets in Iringa. They are unemployed, unlettered, excluded form social life. "- Andy Hart , president of Neema Craft, says. " We wanted to teach them how to produce different things, in order to gained new skills that give them a specific profession."

Employment is one of the most important values in the modern society. When a man is unable to work, both s/he herself/himself and her/his environment pushes her/him to the margins of life. Poverty, unemploment and disability are locked together in a vicious circle and poverty reduction can only be successful if specific disability issues are addressed. Disabled people are economically excluded from pro-poor growth, there is social exclusion from education and health and they have a weak political voice. "Development organisations and governments know little about disability; together with existing widespread prejudices and stigma this creates an important barrier. General agencies think working with disabled people requires skilled knowledge and expertise that they don't have, and so they forget about disabled people all together", says Mark Raijmakers from Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD). "Awareness-raising should, of course, focus on combating discrimination but, in the case of development agencies, practical information should be promoted too. Easy practical solutions that facilitate the participation of disabled people are effective in overcoming many barriers. A lot of the measures taken to reach the MDGs need only a little adjustment to be barrier-free and promote equal participation".

In a country with a population of 35 million people (like Poland), 10% of the population has a disability - nearly 3.5 million people are discriminated due to congenital or acquired disability (eg, brain damage due to untreated malaria). From this number 28% are people with physical disabilities and 20% deaf. But no one knows for sure as in Tanzania, there are frequent cases of child hiding from the public.

"Once when I went to vaccinat chickens to the nearby villages, I put my hand into a container. I thought chicken would be hidden there. But instead of bird I pulled out a small child with cerebral palsy "- says Hart.  This behavior is the result of parents' social pressure and lack of education. People, especially in the countryside, believe that a disabled child is the outcome of evil spirits (witch craft doctors version), or punishment for the sins of the past (church version). So Susie Hart, from the outset, has set herself the goal of changing attitudes toward people with disabilities.

"First is the family. Suddenly they see that their child goes every day for 8-hours to work and earn money. What's more, he can create beautiful things, which are bought by all sorts of people. They begin to be proud of their son. Then their neighbors notice the same thing. And slowly attitude towards people with disabilities is changing "- says the founder of Neema Craft , which herself is disabled and recently gave birth to a girl with Down syndrome.

Disability was not properly addressed in the New York Summit declaration made in September 2005 nor in the strategies designed for achieving the MDGs. However there are the good exemples of small project which are the small steps towards achiving MDGs. They were developed without any big strategis and it was mentioned before by accident. There is no general reaserch of the needs in Tanzania as they are so big in so big country.

NEEMA CRAFT: menu, massage, yoga...

Iringa was lucky and tourist that come to visit it are lucky as well. According to the initial assumption the major customer of Neema Craft is a "white man". He can afford to buy souvenirs in the shop. For most Tanzanians, of which 90% has to survive on less than $ 2 per day (according to UNDP), those products are useless (it is difficult to determine whether or not exclusive). Therefore, the center was designed for Wazungu. "Our customers are mostly tourists going on safari to the Ruaha National Park. They are usually very rich people. Along the way they want to relax in a place that reminds them home - Europe and the United States. Such a temporary home is our restaurant, "- says Andy Hart, while there is the sound of Jazz music in the background. 

All persons working in the cafe are deaf. Therefore, the order should be recorded on a special piece of paper. Service is slow, but the food very good. Neema Craft also offers a massage done by physiotherapist, who takes care of disabled children, as well as yoga, performances and drums.

The restaurant is at the first floor - with a terrace overlooking the mountains, shop at the bottom - with crystal clear glass and loom nearby. In absolute silence and concentration you can see the group of deaf men and women there. However when you enter the room you will hear the extreme noise nuisance as reflected in the facilities for the production of textiles - the clatter of the wood, rubbing squeak of metal saws. Next is a room with sewing machines and tables to produce the cards. Check up their offert here.

Help from abroad and the church

Development and disability is one of the paths of foreign aid. Neema Craft would not exist without the initiative and the management of British marriage. Salary for workers with disabilities would not be possible without the presence of tourists. Although revenue from the services offered at the center is sufficient to pay current expenses, fundrising still plays a cruccial role in the development of the organization. From the collection of money among British society, Neema Craft can purchase wheelchairs (1 piece costs $ 30), refurbishment of the building, provided education and training for staff ($ 5 month course is sufficient for reading and writing) and healthcare.

Additional support for the organization are Anglicans. Neema Craft (neema in Kiswahili means "grace of God") belongs to the diocese of Ruha. Direct affiliation to the institution of the Church is a characteristic of many African non-governmental organization committed to help the poor.

In all this the role of the state is small. Persons with disabilities are not entitled to any additional welfare. The hope has came with the ratification by Tanzanian goverment the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They have been waiting for it here almost 3.5 years (The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006). Tanzania has signed it as a 127 country. This is one of the most important documents designed to provide people with disabilities have the same rights and responsibilities as other members of society and it fills the gao that was made excluding PwD from MDGs. Disability and/or disabled people are not mentioned in any of the 48 indicators of the MDGs. The Convention entails the necessity to make specific legislative changes and re-evaluation of attitudes. It sets standards for respecting human dignity and long-term goals leading to full integration of disabled persons into society.

A drop in the sea

Claud J. Mahembe has been working in Neema Craft for the year. He was lucky. Centre is not able to train and employ all persons with disabilities in the area. "The personal and professional success of our employees encourages others. Every day someone comes asking for a new job. We have to, unfortunately, refuse"- says Mr Hart.

Neema Craft is a unique phenomenon in Tanzania. In other cities of this country, not to mention the villages, no one provides training and employment for people with disabilities. And 100 people across 3.5 million is not much. Most people with disabilities in Africa are affected by the problem of extreme poverty, which means a lack of access to water, health care, education, work and communication.

While asking Mahembe about his plans he anwser: "My salary is 80 thousand Shillings (5$0) per month. It is only enough for current expenses, but not for development. And I would like to learn more, go to the university. But I do not know how to do it. For now I work here. In order to survive. "

You can watch video from Neema Craft here. It's in Polish but I tell what I have described above. Enjoy.